Appeals court upholds decision to block Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for government contractors

By arseniotoledo // 2022-12-22

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A federal appeals court panel has upheld a decision to block President Joe Biden from requiring Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations for government contractors working in three states. On Monday, Dec. 19, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected by a vote of two-to-one an appeal by Biden's administration to roll back a Louisiana lower court's decision in Dec. 2021 to block the COVID-19 mandate for the employees of government contractors. This ruling is the latest in a series of setbacks for Biden's attempt to force more Americans to get vaccinated by requiring contractors doing work for the federal government to be fully vaccinated. This decision comes just days after Congress agrees to end its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the armed forces. (Related: Senate passes bill that rescinds COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the military.) While this recent victory only applies to government contractors in Indiana, Louisiana and Mississippi, Biden's vaccine mandate has been fully or partially blocked in at least half of the United States due to multiple lawsuits. The lawsuits have also prevented the Biden administration from enforcing the contractor mandate in any state for fear that it may interfere with ongoing legal battles. The majority opinion was written by Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt and agreed with by Judge Don Willett. Judge James Graves dissented.

Court of Appeals: Biden has no authority to mandate vaccinations

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel heard arguments back in October. Its written ruling stated that Biden's executive order for government contractors was unlawful because Congress had not given him any clear authority in federal procurement laws to require COVID-19 vaccinations. The majority opinion of the appeals panel noted that if Biden's ordered were affirmed, it would set a precedent that goes beyond just government contractors and could be extended into the realm of public health. Under the administration's justifications, the only practical limit on presidential authority in public health is the executive's ability to tie policy priorities to a notion of economy or efficiency. "To an extent, this is borne out by the statutory text. The statute introduces no serious limit on the president's authority and, in fact, places discernment explicitly in the president's hands," wrote Engelhardt in the majority opinion. He further argued that the president should never be allowed to take an action that Congress has not given the explicit executive authority for. This is especially true for vaccine mandates, a decision that has "vast economic and political significance," he wrote. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who led the case in the Fifth Circuit, said in a statement the appeals panel's ruling "is a victory for freedom." "We will continue to stand up against these abuses of power that threaten us now and in the future." If Biden's federal contractor mandate was affirmed, it would have applied to a staggering one-fourth of the U.S. workforce and it would have affected businesses, including Alphabet's Google, Microsoft, General Motors and Lockheed Martin. More stories like this can be found at VaccineWars.com. Watch this episode of "The Robby Starbuck Show" featuring whistleblower soldiers exposing how the COVID-19 vaccine mandate affected not just themselves and their families but also the armed forces. This video is from the Galactic Storm channel on Brighteon.com.

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Court of Appeals: Biden has no authority to mandate vaccinations

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